Written Answers Tuesday 2 December 2008

Scottish Executive

Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether powers to provide unwanted but essential treatment for a physical disorder can be obtained under Part 6 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000.

Shona Robison: If an adult is deemed to be incapacitated within the definition of part 1 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000, then an Intervention or Guardianship Order under Part 6 of the Act may confer powers to the guardian; welfare attorney, or person appointed under the Intervention Order to grant or refuse consent to the provision of medical treatment for the individual concerned.

Ambulance Service

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration has been given to allocating additional funds to prevent there being only one paramedic on air ambulance night-time flights.

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration has been given to allocating additional funds to ensure that ground-based Scottish Ambulance Service staff are trained to meet their additional responsibilities as a result of the changes to the staffing arrangements for air ambulance night-time flights.

Nicola Sturgeon: Decisions about the way the Scottish Ambulance Service allocates its resources are operational matters for them, within their total budget envelope. This includes decisions about resources for the air ambulance service and for staff training. The Scottish Ambulance Service baseline budget for 2007-08 was £177.794 million and for 2008-09 was £183.394 million. The increase represents a 3.15% uplift.

Ambulance Service

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will next discuss with the Scottish Ambulance Service the issue of there being only one paramedic on air ambulance night-time flights.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government discusses a range of issues with the Scottish Ambulance Service on a regular basis.

Carers

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to make the system for charging for services fairer for carers.

Nicola Sturgeon: It is for local authorities to determine the charges for community care services, following the appropriate regulations and guidance. Only the resources of the person receiving the services should be taken into account by the local authority within the financial assessment for charging purposes.

  The charging rules aim to ensure that people receiving services are only asked to contribute what is reasonable for them to pay towards the costs, taking account of their resources and other financial responsibilities.

  COSLA guidance to local authorities on charging for non-residential services encourages them to take account of the possible financial impact on spouses, and dependents, when setting reasonable charges for the individual receiving services.

  With regards to residential services, the rule that allowed local authorities to seek a contribution from the spouse or parent of a care home resident, the "liable relative rule", was repealed in October 2007. Under the care home charging rules, local authorities have discretion to disregard the value of a property, under certain circumstances, if a former carer continues to live there.

Culture

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will continue the Scottish Music Futures Fund.

Linda Fabiani: The Scottish Music Futures Fund was set up in 2007 with funding of £0.5 million to support the commercial development and promotion of Scottish musical talent. It is administered by Highlands and Islands Enterprise for the whole of Scotland in partnership with the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Enterprise. It was a one-off pump-priming fund and there are no current plans to extend the scheme.

Diabetes

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it accepts that metabolic syndrome, a condition characterised by significantly elevated insulin levels, is the most common form of a pre-diabetic state and, if so, whether it considers that the measurement of insulin levels may be important in the early detection of diabetes.

Shona Robison: Metabolic syndrome refers to a cluster of risk factors related to a state of insulin resistance. It is important to bear in mind, however, that insulin resistance can also be demonstrated in a range of normal situations, including during pregnancy or adolescence, and can be associated with the use of certain medications such as steroids. For these reasons, insulin levels are not currently used to diagnose "pre-diabetes".

Diabetes

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16946 by Shona Robison on 5 November 2008, what evidence it has to suggest that insulin levels cannot be relied on as early indication of diabetes.

Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-17934 on 2 December 2008, which indicated raised insulin levels can be consistent with a number of normal physiological situations.

  The evidence on issues related to screening and early detection of type 2 diabetes is set out in a Health Technology Assessment by Norman Waugh et al entitled Screening for type 2 diabetes: literature review and economic modelling published in May 2007 as part of the NHS R&D HTA Programme. It is available at www.hta.ac.uk

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Diabetes

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16946 by Shona Robison on 5 November 2008, given that many countries across the world and many private laboratories in the United Kingdom routinely test for insulin levels as an indicator of pre-diabetes, whether it will review its position on testing for insulin levels.

Shona Robison: Measurement of insulin is neither sensitive nor specific enough for the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. Laboratories which measure insulin in the United Kingdom or abroad do so as part of an investigation to exclude excessive insulin secretion in the context of hypoglycaemia. This allows the identification of the very rare but very important condition of insulinoma, a tumour of the pancreas.

Diabetes

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16946 by Shona Robison on 5 November 2008, whether it accepts that people who develop type 2 diabetes have insulin resistance and that, rather than as stated in the answer, this is defined by high insulin levels in the presence of initially normal glucose levels.

Shona Robison: People with type 2 diabetes have insulin resistance, but type 2 diabetes does not necessarily result from the presence of insulin resistance. Some people’s insulin production will increase, and will continue to be sufficient to overcome their insulin resistance, thereby ensuring that glucose levels remain normal and type 2 diabetes does not develop.

Diabetes

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it accepts that people who develop type 2 diabetes are likely to have demonstrated raised insulin levels for some years before they demonstrate raised glucose levels.

Shona Robison: People with type 2 diabetes may demonstrate raised insulin levels prior to raised glucose levels, but, as indicated in the answers to questions S3W-17935 and S3W-17984 on 2 December 2008, elevated insulin levels are compatible with a range of normal physiological states and are not necessarily a precursor to the development of diabetes.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Education

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the projected pupil numbers are for primary 1 to 3 classes from August 2010 for (a) Highland, (b) Orkney Islands, (c) Shetland Islands, (d) Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, (e) Argyll and Bute and (f) Moray councils.

Adam Ingram: Projected pupil numbers in each stage for each local authority are not generally produced centrally. However, using trends in the five to seven-year-old population from GRO Scotland’s projections and 2007 participation rates, projections for pupils in P1 to P3 classes (also including other pupils in composite classes that have P1 to P3 pupils) would be 8,150 in Highland, 650 in Orkney Islands, 900 in Shetland Islands, 1,050 in Eilean Siar, 2,650 in Argyll and Bute and 2,950 in Moray.

Energy Efficiency

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether people on low incomes and pensioners are entitled to receive loft and cavity wall insulation and energy-saving devices free of charge and, if not, whether such entitlements are planned and when they will be introduced.

Stewart Maxwell: As part of the Energy Assistance Package, due to begin in April 2009, energy companies have agreed to provide people on income-related benefits and pensioners aged 70 or over with loft insulation (where there is currently less than 60mm of insulation) and cavity wall insulation. These measures will be provided free of charge. We understand that the Department for Energy and Climate Change intends to consult soon on additional measures that could become eligible for funding under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target in future, and this may include energy-saving devices.

Enterprise

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, following Glasgow Fashion Week 2008, by what means Creative Scotland will support the fashion industry.

Linda Fabiani: Creative Scotland will be the national development body for the arts and culture. It will work in partnership with other publicly funded organisations including Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and local authorities to support the fashion industry, reflecting the particular responsibilities of those organisations for economic development and business support.

Health

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of NHS Lothian patients experiencing strokes was admitted to a specialist unit within 24 hours in each of the last three years.

Shona Robison: The information requested is set out in the following table. The relevant NHS Quality Improvement Scotland clinical standard is that 70% of all patients admitted to hospital with diagnosis of stroke are admitted to a stroke unit within 24 hours of presentation at hospital.

  

 NHS Lothian Hospital
 Percentage Admitted to Stroke Unit <= 1 day


 2005
 2007


 Royal Infirmary Edinburgh
 38
 41


 St John’s Hospital
 18
 38


 Western General Hospital
 62
 69



  Source: Scottish Stroke Care Audit, National Report on Stroke Services in Scottish Hospitals – Data relating to 2005 – 2007 (Executive Summary), (2008).

  Data for 2006 are not available, as the Scottish Stroke Care Audit agreed a data collection amnesty that year to allow hospitals with a data entry backlog to focus on collecting audit data for 2007.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to put an end to inequality in the provision of physiotherapy, speech and occupational therapy services so that everyone has the same access no matter where they live.

Nicola Sturgeon: There are currently no specific waiting time targets for the allied health professions. It is for NHS boards and local authorities to determine the level of service provision for physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy based on local need.

  The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that patients have swift and safe access to the full range of services they need from the NHS. We will continue to look at other services which can be brought within the waiting time targets. Meantime we are supporting the NHS in Scotland to improve access to services not presently covered by such targets.

  The Delivery Framework for Adult Rehabilitation specifically addresses improving all access to allied health professions services for adults through a single point of contact. This is being trialled through the NHS 24 triage and referral management pilot.

  The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 places duties on education authorities and NHS boards, which includes allied health professionals, to work in partnership, to ensure all children with additional support needs have access to the necessary support to help them meet their individual needs and improve educational outcomes.

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-17748 by Nicola Sturgeon on 19 November 2008, whether the information entered on the personal child health record is also recorded in the notes held by the general practitioner for that child, in detail or summary.

Nicola Sturgeon: The personal child health record (PCHR) is completed by the health professional at the point of contact/consultation.

  Health professionals based in general practice will also record this information in the child’s GP record. Health professionals based outwith the practice will send this information to the GP for inclusion in the GP record. Guidelines are in place for professionals on the completion of the PCHR.

Historic Sites

Keith Brown (Ochil) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it believes that the Sheriffmuir battlefield in Stirlingshire (a) is associated with historical events or figures of national significance, (b) has significant physical remains or archaeological potential, (c) has a clear landscape context that allows the events of the battle to be understood or interpreted and (d) is capable of definition on a map.

Linda Fabiani: Ministers have yet to finalise the criteria for inclusion of a battlefield on any Inventory and to develop guidance for assessing a battlefield against the criteria. At that stage, it will be possible to consider how well individual sites meet the criteria in a systematic, comparable and transparent way. It would therefore be premature at present to offer a view on any individual site, however well-established its contribution is to the history of our nation.

Housing

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-4514 by Stewart Maxwell on 1 October 2007, what progress has been made towards the introduction of a tenancy deposit scheme.

Stewart Maxwell: It was agreed with the tenancy deposits working group, which represents a range of stakeholders that robust evidence of the nature and extent of problems with tenancy deposits was required before deciding what action should be taken. Therefore, the Scottish Government commissioned two complementary tenant surveys, which asked questions about a range of key issues, including the withholding of tenancy deposits. The Scottish Government also commissioned a landlord survey, which included questions on whether landlords follow good practice in deposit management and whether they have experienced any disputes with tenants about the return of a deposit.

  These surveys have now been completed and the survey reports are being finalised. The Scottish Government will want to discuss the data with the working group before coming to any conclusions.

Maternity Services

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-17443 by Shona Robison on 13 November 2008, how many premature babies were born and what percentage of births this represented in each of the last five years, broken down by community health partnership area.

Shona Robison: The information requested is given in the following table

  Number and Percentage of Premature Babies1,2,3 by Community Health Partnership (CHP) Area Year Ending 31 March

  

 
 2003
 2004
 2005
 2006P
 2007P


 N
 %
 N
 %
 N
 %
 N
 %
 N
 %


 Scotland4
 3,976
 7.8
 4,348
 8.2
 4,179
 7.8
 4328
 8.2
 4,233
 7.6


 East Ayrshire
 111
 9.6
 114
 9.2
 115
 9.0
 134
 10.7
 108
 8.4


 North Ayrshire
 125
 9.2
 109
 7.9
 129
 9.4
 152
 10.5
 133
 8.9


 South Ayrshire
 87
 9.3
 92
 9.1
 93
 9.0
 81
 8.4
 93
 8.9


 Scottish Borders
 65
 6.7
 74
 7.5
 61
 5.9
 58
 6.0
 58
 5.5


 Dumfries and Galloway
 107
 8.1
 95
 7.2
 104
 7.5
 122
 8.8
 135
 9.3


 Dunfermline and West Fife
 104
 7.0
 108
 7.1
 117
 7.1
 114
 7.0
 126
 7.6


 Glenrothes and North East Fife
 87
 8.0
 92
 8.2
 57
 5.2
 67
 6.1
 74
 6.5


 Kirkcaldy and Levenmouth
 79
 8.6
 73
 7.3
 65
 6.5
 73
 7.1
 74
 6.5


 Clackmannanshire
 48
 10.1
 45
 9.2
 38
 7.7
 37
 7.0
 34
 6.3


 Falkirk
 118
 7.7
 130
 8.1
 111
 6.5
 124
 7.1
 116
 6.6


 Stirling
 63
 7.6
 66
 7.3
 65
 6.9
 59
 6.7
 66
 7.3


 Aberdeen City
 195
 9.3
 179
 8.9
 191
 9.1
 178
 8.6
 213
 9.4


 Aberdeenshire
 213
 9.2
 198
 8.4
 191
 8.1
 215
 8.8
 225
 8.3


 Moray
 76
 8.5
 57
 7.0
 58
 6.6
 66
 7.5
 44
 4.9


 East Dunbartonshire
 66
 7.0
 98
 10.0
 52
 5.7
 71
 7.9
 56
 6.3


 East Glasgow
 123
 9.5
 134
 10.1
 145
 10.6
 159
 12.3
 131
 9.7


 East Renfrewshire
 60
 6.7
 71
 7.9
 63
 6.8
 83
 9.7
 44
 5.3


 Inverclyde
 70
 8.5
 63
 7.8
 79
 8.8
 89
 10.4
 62
 7.4


 North Glasgow
 124
 10.0
 132
 10.6
 133
 10.2
 96
 7.8
 92
 7.7


 Renfrewshire
 146
 8.4
 175
 9.6
 161
 8.8
 157
 8.5
 136
 7.4


 South East Glasgow
 101
 8.1
 101
 7.7
 100
 7.4
 115
 8.9
 112
 8.2


 South West Glasgow
 103
 7.9
 113
 8.6
 119
 8.7
 93
 6.7
 126
 8.7


 West Dunbartonshire
 83
 8.5
 90
 9.5
 98
 9.9
 90
 9.1
 96
 9.4


 West Glasgow
 92
 7.1
 123
 8.7
 125
 9.0
 133
 9.4
 119
 8.2


 Argyll and Bute
 46
 6.4
 59
 8.0
 43
 6.1
 73
 10.6
 47
 7.9


 Mid Highland
 54
 6.7
 65
 7.7
 59
 6.9
 63
 7.1
 57
 6.8


 North Highland
 15
 4.9
 19
 5.7
 20
 6.0
 23
 7.2
 20
 5.8


 South East Highland
 62
 7.3
 65
 7.2
 81
 8.7
 74
 7.8
 81
 8.2


 North Lanarkshire
 229
 6.3
 288
 7.6
 270
 7.1
 305
 8.5
 294
 7.6


 South Lanarkshire
 192
 6.3
 244
 7.9
 251
 7.9
 229
 7.4
 217
 6.5


 Edinburgh
 331
 7.6
 355
 7.8
 342
 7.7
 350
 7.6
 333
 7.0


 East Lothian
 62
 7.4
 90
 9.1
 98
 10.7
 81
 8.3
 77
 8.1


 Midlothian
 57
 7.0
 53
 6.2
 65
 7.7
 61
 7.4
 52
 6.2


 West Lothian
 132
 6.8
 181
 9.0
 157
 7.5
 186
 8.9
 173
 7.9


 Orkney
 5
 3.0
 23
 14.5
 16
 8.8
 9
 4.9
 15
 7.4


 Shetland
 8
 3.6
 14
 6.1
 17
 7.3
 11
 4.9
 19
 7.1


 Angus
 77
 7.7
 85
 7.7
 79
 7.5
 71
 6.7
 98
 8.3


 Dundee
 106
 7.2
 143
 9.2
 96
 7.0
 114
 8.1
 125
 7.8


 Perth and Kinross
 100
 8.0
 102
 7.5
 59
 4.9
 81
 6.7
 99
 7.9


 Western Isles
 10
 4.1
 10
 4.1
 19
 8.6
 12
 5.4
 20
 7.2



  Source - SMR02, ISD Scotland.

  PProvisional.

  Notes:

  1. All babies (live and still, single and multiple) born at less than 37 weeks gestation.

  2. Excludes home births and births at non-NHS hospitals.

  3. Where four or more babies are involved in a pregnancy, birth details are recorded only for the first three babies delivered.

  4. Includes births where CHP is unknown or outside Scotland.

  The source of the data provided is ISD Scotland.

Respite Care

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-15631 by Shona Robison on 3 September 2008, whether it will provide information on the number of respite weeks reported to COSLA since April 2008.

Shona Robison: In recent years, information on the provision of respite by local authorities has been collected by Audit Scotland as part of its Statutory Performance Indicator data set. Audit Scotland have still to publish the data for 2007-08, which will provide the baseline for measuring the growth in respite care provision from 2008-09 onwards. No figures are currently available for respite provision since April 2008. COSLA will work with Audit Scotland and the Scottish Government to ensure that relevant data can be collected as efficiently as possible to enable progress to be measured.

School Meals

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children receive free school meals in (a) Highland, (b) Moray, (c) Argyll and Bute, (d) Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, (e) Orkney Islands and (f) Shetland Islands council areas.

Adam Ingram: The available information on the number of children entitled to and taking free school meals by local authority area has been published in tables 8 and 14 of the School Meals in Scotland, 2008 publication, see link below:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/24125730/0.

School Meals

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children receive free breakfasts in (a) Highland, (b) Moray, (c) Argyll and Bute, (d) Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, (e) Orkney Islands and (f) Shetland Islands local authority areas.

Adam Ingram: This information is not collected, however the publication School meals in Scotland, 2008 contains information on the number of schools in each local authority providing breakfast clubs, see link below:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/24125730/27.

Substance Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure that all substance misuse services staff are trained in suicide risk assessment and prevention.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is committed to reinforcing suicide prevention action across a range of sectors. By 2010, 50% of key frontline mental health services, primary care, substance misuse and accident and emergency staff will be educated and trained in using suicide assessment tools and suicide prevention training programmes.

  As part of action to help achieve this target, capacity has been built within Alcohol and Drug Action Teams (ADATs) by continuing to develop provision of suicide prevention and awareness training. Growing linkage between ADATs and local Choose Life suicide prevention implementation groups recognises that substance misuse staff are key gatekeepers for drug users who are at increased risk of suicide. Suicide prevention training skills training is an increasing priority for many ADATs.

Substance Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether staff in substance misuse services will be trained to develop knowledge, skills and capacity in psychological treatments to meet the mental health needs of their client group.

Shona Robison: Psychological interventions are already an established part of substance misuse services. They are provided by specialists but all staff must have the appropriate knowledge to ensure the right referrals are made. We have commissioned NHS Health Scotland to develop a substance misuse workforce development strategy which will be published in Spring 2009.

  In addition, NHS Education for Scotland has been actively contributing to building capability within the workforce, including the creation of psychological therapies training co-ordinator posts within each NHS board area to support the development of psychological therapies across all patient groups, including substance misuse services.